Daughtry
Reviewed by:
takenthecannoli, on march 25, 2013 6 of 8 people found this review helpful

Sound: Apparently not dissuaded by an "American Idol" loss, North Carolinian singer Chris Daughtry gathered the other members of Nickelback for 2006's debut "Daughtry". Though something of a drag on television with convincing, if uninspiring, performances on "Idol", Daughtry is offered a new medium in recording; from the result, it seems, he more than makes up for an arguable dirth of personality onscreen. The band's debut is a hard-hitting, though cripplingly disjointed, emotional thrill ride.
"Daughtry" consists largely of radio-friendly rock tunes with a country slant; the digs made at the band for sounding a bit like Nickelback are certainly understandable, but "Daughtry" does it with the flair and character "All The Right Reasons" sorely lacks. Every song is turned up to 11, from "It's Not Over" bursting into an elegant chorus to "Crashed"'s liquid opening/coda. Whether the result of Howard Benson's production (listening to efforts such as The All-American Rejects' "Move Along", this is highly possible) or the band's own incredible energy, each song is delivered with a power practitioners of the same genres (rock and post-grunge, primarily) often lack.
For all its power, however, the style Daughtry chooses wears thin after a few listens sure, "Crashed" and "Used To" are next-to unforgettable, but "Gone", "Breakdown", and "There And Back Again" are all pretty half-baked ("Breakdown" trying to shake things up with... well... a breakdown). From the Slash-induced stomp of "What I Want" onward, "Daughtry" is a pretty dull ride. The hardest tracks are bunched together at the first half of the track after that, it's all ballads based entirely around vocal work, rather than instrumentation. Granted, none of the work on the record is brilliant - Slash's work stands out like a band suddenly ten times better than the rest of the record suggests - but the second half of the record is entirely forgettable.
About those slow songs the weakest of these, perhaps, is either "Gone" or closer "What About Now", what with "All These Lives" winding things down long before the first note of the final track. "There And Back Again" stands out among those last tracks as the final hurrah of the record though it certainly rocks considerably less after "Crashed" and other such tracks so characterized the record's first half. "All These Lives" is an acoustic guitar-driven piece with an irritatingly narrative country construction that too often relies on Daughtry's vocal work. Unlike "Home" and "Crashed", which both have acoustic tracks on the deluxe version of the record, it isn't very interesting to listen to without the full band.
"Daughtry" certainly starts strong, but by its second half feels anxious to run over already-covered territory. The sound is somewhat more intriguing than other releases in the genre the likes of Nickelback, perhaps but fans of Three Days Grace and the like won't be overly impressed, and if they are, it will be in Daughtry's vocal work alone. "Crashed" is the standout, with stand-out musical variation and an excellent drop into its explosive chorus. One track does not, however, pass the rest of this record. // 5

Lyrics: Chris Daughtry is, frankly, too big for the American Idol stage. The world of pop singers and convention is a dull place indeed even more so, perhaps, than Daughtry's own stage presence. All digs aside, the man more than makes up for a seemingly awkward effigy with incredible delivery in the album's every song. He dovetails into each chorus with astounding emotion, and then shifts back in time to offer a painter's precision in the verses. Perhaps the best examples of this are in the acoustic tracks included in the deluxe edition; "Home" especially has moments arguably better than the original track, what with the pretentious band work out of the way. "Crashed" is brittle and powerful at all the right alternations. "Used To" blasts with an all-too-subtle mixture of frustration and agony. The man simply sings his heart out in "What I Want". Daughtry truly is the star of "Daughtry", even if he suffers the record's cheesiness along with it.
Most of the lyrical work is either standard or good, even if lines like "Then you breathed your breath on me" aren't altogether strong; in context, they either fade into the instrumentation or Daughtry sells them vocally. "It's Not Over" gets old, the second half is as dull lyrically as it is musically until you realize that, really, the first half may have been just as dull. The illusion has been sold with other bands (again, Benson's "Move Along") with an audience none the wiser. If "Daughtry" avoided such a dramatic downward spiral, even the annoyingly country influence of "Breakdown" (blurbs about talking about it over coffee, etc) might avoid sounding as flaccid as it does. // 6

Overall Impression: As far as "American Idol" dropouts go, "Daughtry" isn't too shabby a release. Take it out of its elements, however, and it very quickly crumbles. Chris Daughtry has a voice, to be certain, and a powerful one at that but even as convincing as his inflections are, it gets old. Likewise, the post-grunge-or-country-rock theme here doesn't work nearly as well as the man's blasting (as "There And Back Again" blares in the background); the slow songs are reminiscent of Daughtry's Carolinian upbringing (and Staind), where the rock songs are trying hard to take other bands (Fuel) to the mat. Neither has staying power enough to sell the full forty-ish minutes.

Daughtry
Reviewed by:
kbrulz, on december 06, 2006 3 of 4 people found this review helpful

Sound: It will take a while for Chris Daughtry to loose the label of "American Idol Rocker". But this album goes a long way to help all of that. Daughtry captures the same sound that can be compared to Matchbox Twenty, the Goo Goo Dolls, and even Nickelback. Unlike Bo Bice, Daughtry is legit. He made a damn good rock record with the help of Brent Smith of Shinedown, who co-wrote with him, and Slash even lended a hand laying down a solo for "What I Want". If this album is any indication of what Chris Daughtry is capable of, he will have a great career. // 10

Lyrics: Daughtry wrote or co-wrote all but two songs on the album. The songs range anywhere from heartache (It's Not Over, Used To, Breakdown, and What About Now) to love (Feels Like Tonight, Crashed, and What I Want) to good old fashon rock and roll (There and Back Again, and Over You). The best song on the album is "Home", which Daughtry wrote before the success of Idol. It turned out to be a prophetic song about the lonliness of being away from his family. The vocals on the album are amazing. The lyrics are good. Nothing that will make you scratch your head and think about, but very good none the less. He has a very unique voice that sets him apart from many others. He can go very low with a gravel in his voice and reach up and hit the high notes as well. // 8

Overall Impression: Thank God he didn't win American Idol, or this album may never have shaped up as well as it did. He is not a pop guy trying to do rock. He's rock and roll all the way. The only downfall of the album is that he assembled his band after the album was recorded, so he has studio musicians playing instead of his new bandmates. But, you still get a great feel of what he wants to accomplish with his band. A funny note is the CD cover itself. Everyone is blurred out except Chris Daughtry, ala Stillwater in the movie Almost Famous. // 9

Daughtry
Reviewed by:
livinginmisery, on february 23, 2007 0 of 1 people found this review helpful

Sound: How did this guy not win American Idol? Wait, I know why. Because you american people are fucked up! This has to be one of the best debut albums ever (and thats counting Dookie. If you want to know what I think of Green Day, read my American Idiot review). I think this guy is gonna have a long and prosperous career. Now, the sound. I love the opening song. It's Not Over was a good one to choose for the promotion song. I also like how some of his songs are softer, like Home. You definitely get a 10 from me, even though its more like an 11 or 12. // 10

Lyrics: Yes, Daughtry has great singer skills. There's so much more to this album. I love Feels Like Tonight. Although it's more of a f--k you than an actual love song, it'll still probably be used as a wedding song here and there (don't give me that shit. Good Riddance is probably the best graduation song in the world and if you listen to the lyrics closely it's supposed to be a f--k you to his ex-girlfriend). All These Lives really hit home with me, too. One of the people at my school tried to kill herseld and she was really close to me. I still haven't seen her since and it's been like 18 months! So, I'll give it a 9, because All These Lives made me cry and I don't like crying over songs. // 9

Overall Impression: There's not much more to say about this album. He finished 4th on American Idol, and he's probably gonna be the most successful contestant on that show. I give you a 10, Chris, and I can't wait to go and buy your next album (by the way, just in case you didn't get it, that means my overall impression is good, really good, even great). // 10

Daughtry
Reviewed by:
gotegenks, on november 15, 2007 0 of 0 people found this review helpful

Sound: The sound of the band is very unique, great vocals, great sound, It's going to be hard to shake that american idol impression, but this album goes a long way towards doing that. All the music on this album is pretty much the same style, it's all rock, which is what he was known for on American Idol. I really liked this album, mainly because it's good, clean, and positive. None of these songs make me feel bad, or sad or anything. I give the sound a 10. // 10

Lyrics: most of the songs I think are being said to a woman, that is the impression I get, much like I feel with matchbox 20. The music is very humble, like with the song "Home", it's saying that the life of a star isn't all it's cracked up to be and none of his songs hold him in a high position, none attack anyone or put anyone down, they're all very upbeat and positive. Chris's Vocals are amazing, which is probably the reason that he went so far on American Idol. I give the Vocals a 9. // 9

Overall Impression: Like I said earlier, his sound reminds me a lot of matchbox twenty and Rob Thomas. Probably the most impressive song on the album is What I Want. A very Upbeat and Fast song. Great sound, great lyrics, and not to mention that solo by Slash. I love how the lyrics are so clean and so good. They don't make you feel angry, they don't feed your bad emotions. If this album were stolen, I would definitely buy it again if it weren't on my iTunes library. I give the overall Impression a 9. // 9

I'm definitely not a fan of American Idol, but this album is amazing. I'm not ashamed to admit that. It's the best album I have listened to for a long long time. Chris' voice is just incredible, he is capable to sing heavy songs like 'There and Back Again' (my favourite) and power ballads like 'What About Now' - not many rock singers can do that. I really recommend this album. At least give it a try.

The only people who say it's not a good album are Taylor Hicks fans. As if it matters, that cheeseball impersonator can hang the AI champ trophy in his bathroom. The farther away from anything AI related that Daughtry can get the better. We know a rockstar in the making when we hear one. This is an unbiased review, pay attention and get the Daughtry CD. Here, at ultimate guitar, there are no crappy american idol fanbase games just love for good music.

This is an outstanding CD. I'm glad this guty didn't win AI. If he would have, he would not have had the freedom to create the music that's on this CD. Every song has a good hook and his voice in incredible!

I've never been an idol fan, but I watched this guy and he's the only one with talent. I picked up this to support him because he had the balls to do his own stuff. He's got talent, and I hope he go's far

mrgbjt wrote:
This is an outstanding CD. I'm glad this guty didn't win AI. If he would have, he would not have had the freedom to create the music that's on this CD. Every song has a good hook and his voice in incredible!

This band has some serious potential to become one of the greats. He has the talent to write lyrics and delivers them. Plus, he is from the South so I like him already. Here is the but: the album is full of songs that remind me of so many were here and then they were gone. Bottom line, he needs some musicians to keep up with him, mainly a lead guitarist. Finally, he is making it huge right now and I just hope he keeps it strait so we can enjoy his talent for many albums to come. Because, I make no arguments about the energy and the structure of the songs being perfect. I love them. I think if he focuses on the singing and taking it to the next level and sticking to his style because clearly he couldn't sing "What If" by "Creed", Chris with the right musicians will make it bigger than Creed.

I hate American Idol. More than many will ever know.
But Chris Daughtry kicks ass all over the place, and it's probably for the best that he didn't win, although he definitely had the talent to do so. And if anyone's ever seen the songs he sang for Idol, all of them are on like my top 20 favorite songs.
I don't care what anyone says, Chris Daughtry is a fantastic musician.

Time Seller wrote:
markdirt wrote:
This is one of the worst albums ever.
Agreed.
The songs sound generic, and the guitar playing is awful.

Seriously? I know good music may be a bit of a shock to you, but this album is great. It covers all the bases. The guitar playing being crap? No way! If a debut album sounds this way, you know the rest of them will follow suit, and, if possible, be better. Incredible album, every song on it is great!

IX Pope XI wrote:
I hate American Idol. More than many will ever know.
But Chris Daughtry kicks ass all over the place, and it's probably for the best that he didn't win, although he definitely had the talent to do so. And if anyone's ever seen the songs he sang for Idol, all of them are on like my top 20 favorite songs.
I don't care what anyone says, Chris Daughtry is a fantastic musician.